St James 1-11
Kilbrittain 1-11
JOHN MURPHY REPORTS
AFTER an exhilarating tussle that contained as many twists and turns as the old Mallow Road, there was no separating St James and Kilbrittain, with the spoils shared in this rip-roaring Bandon Co-op JAFC Roinn 3 joust at Timoleague on Saturday.
Mark Hickey and Seán Sexton got the Black and Amber up and running, but in their first attack of note, a long delivery by the impressive Aaron Hayes saw namesake Frank rattle the Kilbrittain rigging.
Conor Whelton and James O’Donovan added white flags, but the off-the-ball hard grafting of Josh O’Donovan and Charlie Hogan was rewarded when they both split the posts in as many minutes.
Conor Hayes added a Saints point, but in a period of Kilbrittain dominance, Ronan Crowley, Mark Hickey and Josh O’Donovan were on target to make it 1-3 to 0-7 by the 26th minute.
A fine movement involving Donnacha McCarthy, Aaron Hayes, Kevin O’Leary and Seán Whelton saw the latter score a real gem of a point. Unperturbed, Kilbrittain produced a real contender for goal of the season.
A shot from Mark Hickey was diverted to safety by the combined efforts of St James shot-stopper Diarmuid O’Donovan and a massed Saints defence. However, the breaking ball was back-heeled to the empty net by Hickey with a flick that would have done justice to the legendary Ronaldo.
James O’Driscoll got the Saints off to an ideal restart, but Philip Wall, one of Kilbrittain’s marquee players, gave a swift reply. Hogan added a point, but in an amazing tsunami of St James point-scoring, between the 44th and 50th minutes, they reeled off six unanswered points.
Charlie McShane, Seán O’Reilly, James O’Donovan, Aaron Hayes (2) and Seán Whelton (free) had the scoreboard operator on overtime. Now leading by 1-11 to 1-9, it was their turn to bite the bullet as Kilbrittain threw the kitchen sink at them.
A Conor Hogan free and a sublime Josh O’Donovan score ensured parity and late drama. Gavin O’Shea’s shot shaved the butt of the upright – and that was that. Show over, spoils shared.
‘We got out of jail tonight. Bar that patch in the second half when we got six points on the trot, we played poorly,’ admitted St James manager Alan O’Shea.
‘Kilbrittain should have won it in the last couple of minutes, they were the better side. But it’s a point on the board, we’ll take it, move on and prepare for Barryroe.’
Cian O’Leary, the Kilbrittain manager, was more upbeat: ‘There is a sense of disappointment with the result. I thought we were the better team in the first half, could have led by more at the interval, but the goal was a big boost. In the second half we fell away somewhat and they punished us with those scores. But I am proud of the lads, as they recovered and finished in style.’
OUR STAR: The display of dynamic Kilbrittain wing-back Philip Wall caught the eye.
Scorers
St James: Frank Hayes 1-0; James O’Donovan, Aaron Hayes, Seán Whelton 0-2 (1f) each; James O’Driscoll, Charlie McShane, Conor Hayes, Conor Whelton, Seán O’Reilly 0-1 each.
Kilbrittain: Mark Hickey 1-2; Josh O’Donovan, Conor Hogan 0-3 (1f) each; Philip Wall, Ronan Crowley, Seán Sexton 0-1 each.
St James: Diarmuid O’Donovan; Charlie McShane, James O’Donovan, Peter Whelton; Kevin O’Leary, Cathal Hennessy, Conor Whelton; Donnacha McCarthy, James O’Driscoll; Denis White, Aaron Hayes, Conor Hayes; James O’Donovan, Seán Whelton, Frank Hayes.
Subs: Ian Evans for Donnacha McCarthy (35), Mark Evans for Denis White (38), Seán O’Reilly for Conor Hayes (49).
Kilbrittain: Eoin McCarthy; Charlie Kenny, Ivan Burke, Sam Dewey; Gavin O’Shea, Thomas Sheehan, Philip Wall; Colm Sheehan, Seán Sexton; Adam Griffin, Aaron Holland, Ronan Crowley; Josh O’Donovan, Mark Hickey, Conor Hogan.
Subs: Darragh Considine for Sam Dewey (25), Eoin O’Neill for Ivan Burke (49), Gavin Kenny for Adam Griffin (51), Bertie Butler for Aaron Holland (55), Eoghan Byrne for Gavin O’Shea (55).
Referee: Andrew Whelton (Clonakilty).
